Sunday, July 31, 2005

CWSA Hanging Plate Shoot - Report

KeeWee and I just got back from the CWSA plate shoot, and have just enough time to shower off the gunpowder, change clothes, and head to the airport for the first part of our mini-expedition.

At least I have partially settled the score with Al L., who solidly kicked my butt, not once, but twice, yesterday at the pin shoot. I managed to squeak by Al by four plates for first in the optical sight class, with Al second, and Pegi third.

Iron sight, clearly (or blurrily, in my case), is not my specialty, but I managed to struggle my way to a fourth place, with Al and Jim P. tied for first, and Jim winning the shoot-off. Steve was third. Only six plates out of a possible seventy-two separated first and fourth, so I can't complain!

e-Postal Handgun match #1 "Flyswatter" update

Entries are coming in, and everyone is finding it "very challenging". (......sounds of fiendish laughter in the background).

We are one entry short on having a center fire revolver sub-class, one entry short on having a rim fire semi-auto sub-class, and four short for a rim fire revolver sub-class. If you were only planning to enter in the center fire semi-auto, why not drag the wheel guns out to the range too! You probably haven't shot them recently, anyway!!

Blog Alert

KeeWee and I will not have reliable internet access for the next ten or eleven days, as we are going to go do some fishing. We will try to get in a post or so as possible, but it depends on what sort of net access we can find.

We are going to go take in one Steel Plate match today at the CWSA range, then we are on the road for a bit.

If all works out, I will have a full range report on a really exotic 9mm. full auto when I get back.

Stay tuned, and get out to the range and swat some flies! The match closes Midnight, August 8th.

Say something nice about Islam meme

Update: In the rush to get out of town for a few days, and to squeeze in one more steel plate shoot, I forgot about one Arab contribution that I had intended to include.

Belly Dancing! Anybody that could convince their gals to dress that way, dance like that, and also convince them that it was healthful and for the exercise, scores one point in my book!! Of course, that's just my opinion....

I got tagged by Rivrdog to say something nice about Islam, or about Arabs, or maybe Islamic Arabs. I haven't been able to get clarification on this as of yet, but since I'm going to be out of town, I figured I'd better do the best I can.

First I only know one Arab, at least I think he counts as an Arab, since he's from Egypt. He's been a college professor here in the States for forty years or thereabouts, and other than the fact that he and I differ markedly in terms of politics (conservative versus liberal) , he's a great guy.

I know a guy who LOOKS like an Arab, sorta, but actually he's Armenian, so I guess that doesn't count. He IS another great guy, however.

Most of the rest of what I know about Islam and Arabs either came from the MSM, so it's most likely wrong, of from bloggers, so it's somewhat more likely to be correct, or from direct sources over in Iraq, that I consider to be very reliable.

Saturday, July 30, 2005

Pin shoot report - Can't win 'em all!

KeeWee and I are just back from the CWSA pin shoot, and we shot OK, but a couple of the other shooters shot a little better, and no giant trophies for the mantlepiece today. (Actually, there never are any trophies, so this is something of a metaphor.)

I managed fast qualifying time, but all that gets you is that you get to shoot against the second fastest qualifier in the first round. Since it's single elimination, your day can be over quickly!

I ran up against Al L. in the first round, and he knocked me out, although I managed one tie table, so at least I didn't end up "two and out". At least I made him work for it, by golly.

I qualified the Smith & Wesson 422 in third place, and narrowly got by Pegi to advance to the second round, where I ran up against Al L. AGAIN! Al smoked me again, but again I made him work for it. If he would have made any mistakes, I would have got him, but he didn't, so I didn't! Overall I ended up somewhere around fourth, I think.

Iron sight class belonged to Jim P. today. He walked right through the competition, taking all the marbles. I got one table off of him, but the rest was history.

All things considered, it was a good day for shooting a few pins, with great weather and good company, but some some days you get the bear, and some days the bear gets you.

Off to another shoot - Oh Boy Oh Boy ! ! !

KeeWee and I are off to another pin shoot at the CWSA range in Coupeville, Washington tomorrow, so posting will be light until tomorrow night.

After the pin shoot, LouG, KeeWee, and I will be setting up e-Postal match "Flyswatter" targets for the pin shooters interested in also entering the postal match. If you are in the area and would like to enter, show up!

So far the turn out has been good, but there's room for lots more entries, especially to establish more of the sub-classes.

Knives by the pound.......

When I saw the title, I was going to have him run off a few twenties and fifties for me, but it turns out it's not THAT kind of forging at all (sigh....)

Even though Freehand picks on me mercilessly, (one dang typo in one comment, and he's all over me!!) I'm still going to mention his post, as it's really interesting reading. Forehand goes into some detail describing the forging process to make a knife.

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Bulltown Shootout - Cowboy Fast Draw

Here is bulltown while being set up for the shootout. It has store fronts for a bank, saloon, jail and fire dept. There are places to shoot Cowboy Action behind the buildings.

The guns are out and cocked but haven't quite gone off yet. All four lights are on, don't remember who won this round.

After four wins in a row, there were some noises about restoring competition. That's Ron M being invited to look at the view.

Just got back from the Cowboy Fast Draw at Bulltown, Montana. Bulltown is a fictitious town near Roundup, MT about 60 miles north of Billings that was built just for Cowboy shooting. Cowboy Action is shot out the back of several buildings and at locations around the store fronts. The fast draw was held (where else) out in the street and started just before high noon.

Bulltown is about 400 miles from where Mr. Completely was, at the Missoula pin shoot. Yes, Montana is a big State.

This was the first Cowboy Fast Draw contest held in Montana and some of the fastest guns from several states took up the challenge. turned out to be quite a shootout. Some of these guys are scary fast. With times to draw, fire and hit the target in the .4 second range.

The final man standing was Ron M and this is his fourth win in a row. Idaho State, Nationals, World, and now Montana.

Like the old cowboys said, "Fast is nice and impressive but accurate is final." Ron is both.

e-Postal Match #1 - Rule Updates

You can enter the same caliber twice, provided one handgun is a revolver, and the other is not. With the exception of .22 rimfire, in most cases the same caliber isn't found both in a revolver and a semi-auto, so this doesn't come up a lot. I am aware there are some exceptions, however, hence this clarification.

Missoula MSSA Celebrity Pin Shoot 7/24/05

When we first saw the gate and sign we knew this was no ordinary gun club!NOTE: All pictures are "click for larger view"

One of the covered shooting stations

There was a special class for 9mm. where they used nine pins instead of five.

How about shooting pins with a shotgun? This shooter lacked the balance and mobility of his younger days, so, great sportsmen that they are, another shooter helped him stay balanced while shooting. A class bunch!

KeeWee working on a personal best time!

When these folks decide to shoot pins, they SHOOT PINS! A full auto M-60. Amazing to watch.....

Overall winner in the full-auto sub-gun class. Fast, and accurate.

As soon as KeeWee and I finished the pin match in Coupeville, we jumped into our luxurious land-yacht and headed East. A quick stop at Walmart before we left town for some stuff to munch on, a couple of new batteries for the red dot sights, and some more ammo. Then we hit the road for Missoula, Montana, for the Montana Shooting Sports Association Annual Celebrity Pin shoot. MSSA puts this event on as a fund raiser for supporting pro shooting legistation in Montana.

First observation: Missoula is a long ways from here. Heck, it's a long ways from anywhere, except maybe East Missoula! It was a little over eleven hours of steady driving. We stopped at a rest area in the wee small hours of the morning, about fifty miles short of missoula to get a few hours sleep, and so we would be looking for the range in daylight.

After a few quick hours of shut-eye, we were back on the road, with enough time to actually stop for a sit-down breakfast, or so we thought. As we went by a sign with time and temeperature on it, I realized it was an hour later that we thought. We had travelled far enough East that we were in a different time zone and it was one hour later than we thought. Oh, Well, so much for breakfast!

We followed the well-written instructions emailed to me by Gary Marbut, MSSA "Head guy", and soon were at the front gate into the Western Montana Fish & Game Association range. What a beautiful facility! Individual bermed bays all over the place, set up against the side of a mountain. Even the restrooms were excellent!

You could sign up as many times as you want, in tons of different classes. You could shoot in Single Action Revolver, Double Action Revolver, Auto Pistol, 9mm. pistol (9 pin), Pump shotgun, Autoloading shotgun, Lever-action rifle, .22 rifle, .22 pistol, and Full Auto Sub-machine gun! All at bowling pins.

Each entry allowed you three timed tries at five pins on a table twenty-one feet away. Start position was with the gun resting on a horizontal bar in front of the shooter. When the buzzer sounds, shoot the pins as fast as you can. The .22's only had to knock the pins over, while larger calibers had to get them off the table. The two fastest times of the three are added together for your score.

I signed up for three rim fire pistol, and KeeWee signed up for two. I grabbed my trusty High Standard with a Volquartsen barrel and a red dot sight.

My first three tables were nothing much to talk about, as lack of sleep was probably a factor. Wonderful thing, however, is adrenalin!

For my second round of three tables, I was really getting pumped up! First table was about three and a half seconds. Not too bad! Second table,3.17 seconds, a personal best!! Third table, 2.99 seconds! WOOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!! I finally broke into the two's! That gave me a score of 6.16 seconds total.

When I walked back to the staging area carrying my gun case, I was walking at least a foot above the ground!!

KeeWee was a little rusty in her first three tables, but a little adrenalin kicked in, and she ran three more tables with a personal best of 4.04. That gave her fifth place overall, and top lady! Her feet weren't touching the ground either!

I still had one entry left to shoot, so I decided to dig out my Smith & Wesson 422. Shooting the 422 with a Taco grip out of a crouch is really fast to the first pin, but not as accurate as the High Standard. I had to get the first shot of quickly, but be sure to hit something with all five.

On the third table I didn't hit one of the pins solidly enough and it didn't go down, so I needed a sixth shot to finish it off, so the time was a little slower, but it didn't matter.

I was visiting with one of the club members and remarked that I was amazed at the times I had shot, considering how little sleep I had the night before. He figured I was just to tired to shake! Probably some truth in that!!

Since KeeWee and I were now through shooting , we stowed our gear back in our land-yacht, and spent the rest of the afternoon watching the other classes being shot. There was even a M-60 machine gun for rent for anyone who wanted to try it out. Very impressive! The sub-gunners were fun to watch, as they were having a hard time hitting anything, but were clearly enjoying themselves immensely!

The semi-auto shotguns were also spectacular. The fast guys were getting five pins in something like three seconds! Sort of shoulder-fired "Shock and Awe". Some of the bolt action rifle shooters were really getting the rounds down-range efficiently too.

It was a long weekend, with lots of driving, little sleep, and a wonderful time meeting and shooting with one of the friendliest bunch of folks you could ever want to meet. KeeWee ended up fifth or sixth overall, (I think), but that was good enough to be the "Top Lady" for the day, and fastest lady in rim fire pistol. Have a look here for her post on the trip.

I ended up winning the rim fire pistol, and had some of the fastest times of the day, over all.

KeeWee also got an award for being the "Best Supporting Spouse". They already know me way too well, I guess.........

The MSSA Celebrity Pin shoot is usually on the fourth Sunday in July. If there is any way you can manage to get there next year, you should make every effort to do so.

CWSA Pin Shoot 7/23/05

LouG and DeanH at full speed with red-dotted wheel-guns

Here's what happened to LouG when he ran up against Al in the final. Al already has three off the table, number four is going overboard, and number five is about to disappear too. LouG has one pin going off the table, so far. Al may just be bionic..........

I've been showing a lot about the rim fire pin top shooting lately, so I decided I'd show the wheel-gunners at work this time. I'm always amazed at just how quickly the better shooters can shoot while maintaining accuracy, when shooting double-action. Even with all the trigger work and action polishing it's still a seven or an eight pound trigger pull, and these guys are still not jerking it off the target, as fast as they are shooting.

We had a good turn-out in the rim fire pin top classes, and some very close matches. There were even several tie tables, where it just wasn't possible to tell who got their table cleared first!

In the optical sight class I entered both my High Standard and my Smith & Wesson 422, both with Simmons 42mm. red dot sights. I qualified the High Standard in first, and third with the Smith & Wesson. KeeWee timed in somewhere around sixth or seventh. I managed to narrowly get past Al, the number two qualifier, using my High Standard, and narrowly past JimP, the number four qualifier, in the first round. No one makes you sweat like these two guys! KeeWee was edged out by LukeN in the first round.

That put me up against myself in the second round, so I retired the 422 for the day. A next round bye put me into the final against Pegi. She just keeps getting faster and faster! Fortunately I was able to find a couple more good tables, and got the final. Not by too much, though!

Rim fire iron sight, with my lousy eyesight, has always been frustrating, and today was no exception. I managed to qualify somewhere around fourth or fifth, and won my first round match. Phil then stomped on me pretty good, ending my day. Phil and JimP ended up in the final, with JimP taking the marbles. I think I ended up either third or fourth overall.

It is interesting to note that as the season goes on, the caliber of shooting keeps getting better and better. The times keep getting faster, and the matches get closer.

It was a great day at the range, with lots of close competition, the usual fun and games, the usual bunch of screwballs, and a great time had by all.

More Sea Fighter Photos

The Sea Fighter - Built on Whidbey Island, by golly!

As KeeWee and I were sitting in the parking lot waiting to catch the ferry back to Whidbey Island, what should go by but the Sea Fighter! The ferry dock is just a few miles South of the Everett, Washington Navy base, where the Navy has the Sea Fighter based. I wish they would have "firewalled" it so I could see it at speed, but they just motored by at maybe fifteen knots. Still, a very impressive sight to see.

Monday, July 25, 2005

What's on your night Stand?

Les Jones hit me with this meme, and the protocol is to answer the question, then tag five other bloggers, and they get to post their answers, then pass it on from there.

Please send all the hate mail to Alphecca, as this one was HIS idea! (Just kidding - these can be kinda fun!)

First, to be technically correct, I don't have a nightstand, but I use the end of a chest-of-drawers, so I will confine this to the end of the chest-of-drawers that serves as one. I am also excluding anything that just MIGHT happen to be REALLY close, but just not on the night stand.

Here we go:

Small lamp, clock radio, Sig P-220 in .45, two full magazines for the Sig, (hollow points), a Taurus PT92 9mm., two full clips for the PT92 (again, hollow points), a nearly full box of .45 ammo, 25 or 30 loose .22 rounds, pocket change, and my digital cameras and their battery chargers.

The loose .22 rounds come from rimfire matches where when I clear a chamber, I put the round in my pocket, so it doesn't get back into the gun during the match. I use up those rounds in practice. I don't like to re-chamber anything if I can help it.

e-Postal Handgun Match #1 "Flyswatter" News #2

The scores and targets are now starting to come in, and it looks like I better stay out of dark alleys for a while, particularly if any of the entrants are in the neighborhood!

You just wouldn't think that something that looks so easy could be as tough as it is. I debated with myself about shooting the target a couple of times before announcing the match, but decided not to, since I wanted to enter also, and wanted it to be the same for me as for everyone else. I had no idea it was as hard as it it is!

If you have a website or a blog, and you post pictures of your targets on your site, as several of you already have done, you can just send me the URL and I'll accept that as the same as having sent pictures of the targets, since I can view or print them from your site.

I will be posting the names of those who have submitted entries, so check down the list and if you sent in an entry, be sure your name is on the list. If you sent me an entry, but are not listed, drop me an email and I'll see if I missed it somewhere. We don't want anyone left out.

Friday, July 22, 2005

Blog Alert - Off to blast a few pins

Blogging will be pretty much non-existent until Monday night, as KeeWee and I are off to a Coupeville, Wa. pin shoot tomorrow at the CWSA range, then we are leaving directly from the shoot and driving most of the night to get to Missoula, Montana to shoot in the Montana Shooting Sports Association's Annual fund raiser bowling pin shoot on Sunday.

It's going to be a busy weekend with two matches and roughly twenty hours of driving all crammed into three days.

DAMIPHINO and his better half are off to compete in another Cowboy Fast Draw match this weekend.

We should have a lot of pictures and range reports coming up this next week!

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Eminent Domain News

As you have all probably noticed, the Kelo/Eminent Domain issue seems to have more or less slid off the radar completely. It appears, however, that a ground-swell of activity has arisen at the city, county, and state level, all across the United States.

Although the reds and blues disagree on just about everything else, they seem to have found common ground in their opposition to the eminent domain taking of private land for private development.

You might want to head over to Eminent Domain Watch for the latest news and updates on this flurry of activity.

e-Postal Handgun match "Fly Swatter" News #1

Some of the preliminary reports are coming in, and the target is a lot harder than it looks! Don't get spooked off if you don't score a high score.

I am expecting a lot of low scores due to the difficulty of the task, so go ahead and send in your scores, no matter HOW badly you think you've done. I suspect a relatively low score may place you fairly well, particularly in the sub-classes.

Hi Point 9mm. carbine

Hi Point 9mm. carbine (click all for larger image)

Hi Point 9mm. carbine with optional red dot sight

When I first came across the Hi Point 9mm. carbine, I was taken by it's appearance. It has a cool-ugly sort of look, in a functional way. Kinda like an AK-47 or SKS, not designed for looks, just for function. The stock is plastic (oh all right, polymer!), and splits down the middle length-wise, being held together with several screws.

The all black Hi Point looks scary enough to drive the gun-banners nuts just with its appearance, which isn't all that bad a thing, considering!

The Hi Point has a number of fairly unique features, particularly for a rifle in this price range. First off, it's chambered in good ol' 9mm. Lots of cheap ammo choices here! It's clip fed, with a 10 round capacity. The clip, or magazine, if you want to be accurate, is inserted through the pistol grip, more like a hand gun. The front sight is a relatively crude post, and the rear sight is a large peep sight, adjustable both for elevation and windage.

Also included with the rifle is a scope rail that bolts directly to the receiver shroud. With my lousy eyesight, I installed a used red dot scope I had on the shelf, as shown in the picture. Also included no charge, you get sling mounts, and a nylon web sling. The even throw in a disassembly tool/wrench!

Field stripping, and even full disassembly, is a piece of cake. Removal of the two through bolts that retain the receiver shroud, and unscrewing the operating handle (bolt bolt?) allows you lift off the receiver shroud and the barrel cover. Remove the bolt clip, and the bolt comes off. Remove a few stock screws and another clip, and it's pretty much down to being a pile of pieces. You can disassemble and reassemble the whole shebang in about fifteen minutes or less!

Looking at the parts, you can see that a lot of thought went in to the design. It's solid, simple, and designed to be produced at a price that anyone can afford. It's even price competitive with a lot of .22's!

When I look at the bolt, my first thought is that it's something agricultural! Boy, is it heavy duty. A big massive crude chunk of steel that should be nearly indestructible! The plastic in the stock is thin and flexible, but it seems to be durable enough to do the job, provided you give it a little bit of care.

Range report: I should mention that the rifle was brand-new, and I had never fired it before. I should also mention that the ammo I was using was decidedly suspect. In fact, it was some bulk 9mm. hollow point re-loads a buddy of mine picked up cheap at a gun show. He also GAVE it to me. I'd call that DEFINITELY suspect ammo as to quality. Out of about fifty rounds, I had perhaps three fail-to-eject's. I blame those on it being a new, and tight, rifle, and low quality ammo. It might even suggest that the Hi Point would work fairly well with low quality ammo!

Although 9mm. is not really considered target ammo by any stretch of the imagination, in the Hi Point the accuracy was very acceptable. Reasonable groups were possible from a bench rest, at least out to fifty yards. At fifty yards, shooting off-hand and semi-rapid fire, I was able to consistently place everything within a seven inch circle. Not bad at all! I suspect that with a little trigger work, I could do better.

Ah yes, the trigger. Short story: It sucks. It was rough, ratchety, and way too heavy, even for plinking. I suspect a little attention to smoothing, polishing, and fiddling, and it could be much improved.

Overall impression: I really liked it! Is it a high precision, close tolerance firearm? Nope, not even close. It is exactly what it was intended to be, a reasonably priced, durable carbine that's fun to shoot, and it's ALL of that, and more.

If you want to do some plinking with something with a little more authority than a .22, it's perfect. If you are looking for something for the kids to shoot when they move up from the .22, you should have a look at one of these.

The Hi Point 9mm. carbine personifies the expression "Bang for the buck". It's American made , and it has a lifetime guarantee. I paid $179.95 for mine, and you can probably do even better than that if you shop around.

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

The big campaign map

Over at Varifrank's there's a good post comparing 2001 with 2005 in terms of the status and influence of islamic fascism. If you are getting fed up with the MSM not reporting any of the good news, head over and read the full article. I guarantee you'll feel better........

Here's a few excerpts from his well written post:

'Theres actually lots of good news. Lets look back at bit and see where we are on the "big campaign map" on the war on islamic fascism."

"With the exception of the cowardly government of Spain, Al-queda has had no effect on changing the policies of the west. Democracy, anathema to al-queda is now spreading like a wildfire on the prairie. Where once al-queda found a culture that looked on their ideas as virtuous, they are increasingly seen only as the killers of Muslim children."

"We are clearly winning this war. However the western press and its desire to paint history in its own dark twisted vision of self loathing and disaster will simply not allow any good news to be painted as such, lest the "evil George W. Bush" get credit for changing the world for the better."

LOADING BULLSEYE SMOKELESS POWDER INTO ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION IN WHICH THE RECIPE CALLS FOR UNIQUE“ SMOKELESS POWDER MAY RESULT IN HIGH PRESSURE LOADS AND SUBSEQUENT GUN DAMAGE OR PERSONAL INJURY.

If you are in possession of an eight pound (8 lb.) bottle of Alliant Powder Unique with any of the above noted lot numbers, please immediately cease use of this product and notify Alliant Powder by calling 800-276-9337 or emailing reloading@alliantpowder.com

Magazine Subscriptions for Military personnel

If you've got a few extra bucks, here's a REALLY good way to spend it.

If you go to THIS website, you can donate a subscription of Guns and Ammo, Shooting Times, Shotgun News, Handguns, Rifle Shooter, or your choice of almost a dozen other magazines to a soldier who is asking for one.

Tell 'em Mr. Completely sent you! (They'll have absolutely NO idea what you are talking about, but what the heck!!)

Anarchangel's Fatwa

As most of you already know, Chris Byrne at Anarchangel has had a Fatwa issued calling for him to be killed because he desecrated the Koran. Response across the blogosphere has varied widely, from ignoring the issue, to wanting to be added to the fatwa.

Whether Chris's actions were ill-advised or not is not the point. The point to me seems to be that in THIS country, Chris has done nothing more than to express his own freedom of actions, on his own property, using his own personal Korans.

He could have done the same thing with the Bible, the Book of Mormon, or even "Atlas Shrugged". In each case, regardless of the book he used, someone's going to get upset if the actions are publicised.

In a free country, there are no laws guaranteeing that someone elses actions, or speech, for that matter, won't tick you off. Just because someone makes you mad doesn't give you the right to threaten their life, at least, not in this country, and it shouldn't, in ANY country.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Chris and his family, and we hope that these terrible people that have threatened him are located, and brought to justice.

This target will print out perfectly on an 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper. You may need Adobe Acrobat reader to view and print the target. If you do, it's available for free here. ONLY download the reader, skip the other stuff they want you to download at the same time.

Distance: ten yards

Handgun Type: Any handgun with a barrel not over 12" long.

Shooting Position: Standing, un-supported.

Sights: Any type of sight provided there is no magnification.

Caliber: Any caliber.

Procedure: You only get two targets. Practice all you want, but not on the match targets. When you are all warmed up and sighted in, hang the first target, and try to hit all twenty flies, one shot per fly. You get twenty shots per target. Hang the second target, and take twenty shots at the second target. No practice in between. You are done.

Scoring: Only one target is scored. The other one is your "mulligan". Hitting any part of the fly counts as a hit, and counts as one point. Hitting the same fly twice only counts as one point. A perfect score would be one shot per fly for twenty points. Ties will be posted as ties.

Classes: All entries will be scored together, from first to last. However, sub-classes will also be scored in the following possible categories, provided there are five or more entries in the specific category. For example, if there were enough entries to form a center fire revolver sub-class, you could end up first in Center fire revolver, and fourth over all. Here are some possible sub-classes:

Rim fireRim Fire RevolverCenter fire Revolver.45 Caliber

I expect most of the entries will be semi-auto's, so there won't be a separate class for them. I also reserve the right to add additional sub-classes if entries warrant it.

Multiple entries: You can enter more than once, in fact, it is encouraged. The only restriction is that you can only enter once for any given caliber of semi-auto, or any given caliber of revolver. Different calibers in the same gun count as one caliber. For example, .38SPL and .357MAG are considered as one, as would be .44SPL and .44MAG.

Prizes: Nope! Just bragging rights. --Maybe-- some certificates like the rifle e-Postal matches, if I can get AnalogKid to do 'em for me....

Submitting your entry: Take a digital photo of, (or scan) your target, and email the picture, your score, type of handgun used, type of sights, and caliber, to blog@whidbey.com. Be sure to include your email address, and what name or nickname you want used when we post the results.

All entries must be received by Midnight Monday, August 8th, and results will be posted within seven days, or less.

If you have any questions, leave the question in the comments to this post, or send me an email, or both. Check every so often for updates and clarifications to the rules, if any.

Even though this is a novelty target, this is not all that easy. I expect perfect scores to be rare, indeed!

Range Report

LouG tries out AnalogKid's "Boomershooter" as AK spots.

KeeWee and I headed up to the range to meet up with AnalogKid of Random Nuclear Strikes for a little assorted shooting. AK, LouG, and some of the other folks shot a centerfire and rimfire rifle match in the morning, and KeeWee and I got there just as it was breaking up. LouG was on a roll, and smoked everybody. LindaW competed, even with a recently broken trigger finger. That musta been tough.

We went over to the pistol range to sight in my new Hi Point 9mm. carbine. Talk about bang for the buck, literally! I picked mine up for 179 bucks from a local gun shop. 9mm., all black, clip fed, and it even comes with a scope rail. You can expect a full review and range report on the Hi-Point 9mm. carbine in the very near future.

I mounted up a used red dot scope I had on the shelf, and proceded to get it sighted in. I started at ten yards, and worked it out to fifty yards, so I'd be dialed in for the e-Postal Rifle match.

I shot a couple of practice targets, then stapled up the match target and rapid- fired away. You only get to shoot one match target, so I pulled down the target and put the Hi Point away. When I got home, and started to score the target, I realized there were only nine holes in it.

Hmmmmmm? I apparently either miscounted, and only shot nine shots, or else I had a major league flyer that didn't even hit the paper. Either is possible.

Just for the heck of it I grabbed my Hi Standard bowling pin race gun, thinking I'd try the same target with a hand gun. I only had time to shoot one quick clip at 50 yards, as the range was about to close for a while. for some maintenance. I didn't have point of aim figured out, since I'm sighted in for twentyfive feet, but I made a guess, and ripped of ten quick ones, as in maybe seven seconds. Got seven of them on the target! Not too bad, I'll take it......

We then went over to the pin range, and shot a few pins. I'd been looking forward to shooting the Sig P-220, but ended up disappointed. The third round stuck in the chamber (really stuck solid!) and I can't get the slide back to eject the stuck round. You can't reach the ejector to release it, either. Anyone else have this happen to you? If so, what did you do to fix it?

By this time we had gotten in a fair amount of shooting of both targets and bull, so we loaded our gear back into our econo-limo and headed back to the the farm.

The weather was great, and other than the Sig packing up, we had a grand time.

Saturday, July 16, 2005

Blog Alert

Posting will be a little light this weekend, as (you guessed it) I'm going to the range both days. I've got a "very scawey" black carbine to sight in (of course there'll be a full range report), a nearly new Sig P-220 to shoot, and a postal match target to punch a few holes in for the upcoming postal match.

By the way, the Handgun Postal Match #1 rules will be posted on Monday, a few days earlier than scheduled, as I'm going to be out of town for a couple of days over this weekend, (you guessed it again, going shooting!!)

Friday, July 15, 2005

Johnson Space Center Tour

Stickwick Stapers at Carnaby Fudge got the chance, along with a couple of friends, to go on a special tour of the Johnson Space Center last Saturday. He photo-blogged the tour in two parts. Click here for part one.

Technology to Watch - Electronic Paper!

Sorry about the bad pun in the title, but this electronic paper looks like something that's going to revolutionize the way a lot of things are done.

Basically, you "load" the image to the paper, then disconnect it from power, and the image remains, without any electricity required. If you want to change the image, just load a different one.

Here's an excerpt from their press release:

Electronic paper offers all of the same characteristics of paper such as being thin, flexible, and lightweight. It also boasts low power consumption in that it does not require electricity except during screen image changes, making electronic paper especially suited for advertisements or information bulletins in public places for which paper is currently used. Electronic paper is especially convenient for use on curved surfaces, such as columns. In addition, electronic paper can be conveniently used in conjunction with mobile devices as an easy-to-read and portable display device.

The new electronic paper features vivid color images that are unaffected even when the screen is bent, and features an image memory function that enables continuous display of the same image without the need for electricity.

Old age and treachery

Crime Dog over at Parrothead Ramblings spins a great tale of revenge from a camping trip interaction with some drunk college boys. They proved that old age and treachery beats youth and skill every time. The whole story is here.

Ham and Cheese Pie

KeeWee has decided to leap into the blogosphere, and has just launched Kee Wee's Corner athttp://keeweescorner.blogspot.com/. I suspect it's going to be a mix of gardening, cooking, and shooting, but you never know where these sort of things may lead. She's just got it up in the last couple of days, and doesn't have much posted as of yet.

Best Burger in the World

I don't consider myself much of a connoisseur of anything, with a couple of possible exceptions. Hamburgers are one of those exceptions. I have had hamburgers all over the world, and it's amazing how much a good old hamburger loses in translation.

Although it was quite a few years ago, I wandered into a McDonald's in Amsterdam, salivating over the thought of a cheeseburger. Well, it did LOOK like a hamburger, and the wrapper looked like something from McDonalds, but it sure didn't taste like a hamburger.

The bun was crunchy in places The meat was barely luke-warm, kinda grayish in color, and could have been used for brake linings. I was sadly disappointed.

However, that's not what I'm on about today. Today we are talking about the BEST hamburgers you've ever tasted.

First, a couple of guidelines.

1. If it's not sloppy, with sauce and stuff all over your face when you've finished it it's just not a hamburger in my book. Maybe a toasted beef and cheese sandwich, but not a hamburger.

2. If it takes five of them to fill me up, it's not a hamburger, it's an appetizer.

3. It's gotta have the basics, and build from there. Bun, beef, sauce, lettuce, tomato, you know, stuff like that. No beef, not a hamburger, maybe a buffalo burger, maybe a tofu burger, maybe a zucchini burger, but NOT a hamburger.

4. Every component has to contribute to the end result. Tasteless cheese, for example, that functions primarily as an adhesive is an instant disqualification.

5. It has to be reasonably priced. I just can't enjoy a hamburger that cost fifteen bucks!

Here's my Top Two:

FIRST PLACE: Uncle's Deluxe Double Cheeseburger, in Aukland, New Zealand. It was over twenty years ago, and I was wandering around downtown Aukland looking for something to eat. In the side of one of the large office buildings was a small counter and fast food place called Uncle's. It was like they had cut a large horizontal hole in the side of the building, set in a counter, and set up a grill on the inside. I was pretty skeptical, but I was also getting hungry, so I opted for their top end burger. My mouth still waters just thinking about it. The bun was large, and tasted like fresh baked bread, fresh out of the oven. The usual stuff was in it, and the beef flavor was excellent. The cheese was a sharp but smooth cheddar, and lots of it. The onions were sweet, and grilled. The mustard was more of a Coleman's type flavor. Up to this point, a really good burger, but it got better yet. Several big slices of bacon, and a ring of pineapple, topped of with a fried egg! WOW! Just WOW! I lived on those Uncle burgers for about a week.

SECOND PLACE: I was driving across the country from upper New York state to Seattle in my 1960 Corvair, somewhere around 1970, or thereabouts. (Made it in three and a half days, but that's a story for another time.) Anyhow, I was out in the absolute middle of nowhere, and the road hadn't changed direction by more that a degree ar so for a couple of hours. It felt like driving down the middle of the world's longest runway. It was early afternoon, and I was getting hungry. As I approached an overpass, I saw a sign that said something like "Out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-ville 3 miles".

About a mile from the freeway I saw a single building coming up on the left with an overhead sign that proclaimed something along the lines of "Mom's cafe". I don't really remember the exact name of the place.

Opening the screen door and walking in, I was transported back to about 1950, the tables, the counters, the stools, all of it. It looked just like the kind of a place they tried to re-create on Happy Days.

As I remember, deluxe bacon cheeseburgers were 85 cents, and the extra large milk shake was about 60 cents. It was a bargain, even for those days. What a treat! None of the ingredients stood out or overpowered any of the other ingredients, but they all worked in harmony. Nothing unique, nothing radical,it was just a hamburger symphony of flavors, and the milkshake was excellent too.

Hi Standard Model "B" .22 Pistol

Hi Standard Model "B" .22 Caliber Semi-Auto Pistol

The little button on top of the slide is VERY important!

When Hi Standard first started producing pistols, the first model they came out with was the model B. They made it in both a long barrel and a short barrel version. The one pictured is the long barrel model. The basic design was derived from an earlier Browning design, as was the Colt Woodsman. In fact, the Woodsman and the Model B look almost identical, although they are not.

The model B turned out to be a reliable, well made, and accurate pistol. Some people didn't like the grip, as for a person with large hands, it was on the short side. On later models this was changed, and the grip was extended. On later models the magazine capacity was increased from nine to ten rounds. Later models also incorporated a slide lock back lever, which the Model B did not have.

When I first came across this particular Hi Standard Model B, it was in sorry shape. The corner of the left grip panel is the retainer for the side frame cover, and the corner of the panel had been broken off, so the side cover had fallen off, along with several other small pieces that the cover had retained.

Fortunately, Al was familiar with the model B, and was able to order up the replacements for the missing parts. I had Al strip the gun and check it over, and make sure everything else was in order. He also replaces some of the springs that looked a little suspect. I had some small pieces of absolutely beautiful walnut, so I made up a set of grip panels to the same dimension as the original bakelite panels. It took a little bit of careful routing on the inside of the panels to allow clearance, but a little hand fitting, and they fit perfectly. A hand rubbed oil finish made the panels look like they had been on the gun when it was new.

Field stripping the Hi Standard Model B is really easy, but if you do it wrong, you can really mess up the gun! REALLY! See that little button on the top of the slide, just in front of the front sight? Pull the slide all the way rearward, then hold down the button, and let the slide move back forward a ways. The slide spring will then be compressed and held by the button. You can now push down on the takedown lever, and the slide can be slid to the rear and removed.

To re-assemble, hold down the takedown lever, and slide the slide all the way forward. Release the lever, then pull the slide all the way to the rear, and the spring is then released, and you are ready to go.

How's it do out at the range? The feel of the gun is that of a well made, precision piece of equipment. It was originally designed as a plinker, and the non-adjustable sights are perfect for that sort of shooting. The lack of target sights is a limitation for club competition, but once you figure out where it's shooting, that's not such a big deal. The trigger pull is smooth, and breaks like glass. Good triggers are sort of a Hi Standard trademark. Accuracy is very good, and way better than most shooters can shoot!

Would I recommend the Hi Standard Model B. Yes, but considering that collectors are driving the prices up, you will have to pay more for it than you could buy a new gun of other current production brands. That also means that regardless of what you pay for it, you will most likely be able to sell it for more that you originally paid for it.

Odds are, however, that if you buy one of these sweet shooters, you won't EVER sell it, and you sure as heck won't ever wear it out. It's that well made.

An Old Farmer's Advice

* Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.* Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.* Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.* Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway.* Don't judge folks by their relatives.* Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none.* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.* If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.* Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.* Always drink upstream from the herd.* Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.* If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.

Cowboy Fast Draw World Championships

DAMIPHINO probably getting his butt kicked!(I'll be next time he won't let Mr. Completely caption the pictures, ya think?)

At least the smoke isn't coming out the bottom of his holster!

Damiphino and Prickley Pear Blossom (wife's SASS alias) attended and competed in the Cowboy Fast Draw World Championship recently held in Deadwood South Dakota. He sent in this range report and pictures:

"Saw Og's post about his new Uberti Cattleman and decided I would placate Mr. Completely and send some info. on the Cowboy Shoots. Been doing both Cowboy Action and Cowboy Fast Draw. You get to make all those delightful loud noises with pistols, lever actions and shotguns just as long as they were designed before 1898.

The latest shoot was a Cowboy Fast Draw contest. Prickley Pear Blossom (wife's SASS alias) uses a Uberti Cattleman in 45 Colt. Looks like Og's. Mine is an EMF Great Western II.Cowboy Fast Draw is a bit different from the "World Fast Draw" World has been around longer but they use highly modified guns and holsters. The guns usually have aluminum barrels and hammers with high tabs, most of them couldn't shoot live ammo just blanks.Cowboy Fast Draw is more traditional the guns have to be Colt Single Action Army or clones and can't have any modifications. You can tune the actions but they must be fully functional and able to shoot live ammo. In the contests you use wax bullets over a shotgun primer and in some cases a few grains of black powder over a pistol primer. That gives a little smoke so people can see what is going on.Targets are 21 feet away and you draw against one other person although there usually 4 or 6 on the line. You have to draw and hit the target in order to get a time. 3 out of 5 is the winner. The loser gets an X and 3 X's you are out. Who you shoot against is a matter of luck of the draw. It gets kind of intense on the line and there is a lot of psyching going on. If one person shoots fast and misses the other one can stand there and make a few comments carefully aim and fire even if the hit takes a while it is still a win and often reffered to as a gut shot.

How fast are these guys? Well, a World Record time of .351 seconds was set, and when someone does that, they have to prove it wasn't a fluke or that the had jumped the light, by backing it up with another time that's within 3/100 of a second of the first. Greg Danielson backed it up with a .362 on the next draw. WHEW! That's FAST!!Oh, one thing DON"T TRY FAST DRAW WITH LIVE AMMO!! At every contest there is at least one or two people who get too fast and the gun goes off in the holster. With wax and primers it is embarassing and can hurt like hell but with live stuff, not a good idea. "

e-Postal Handgun Match prelim info

When I heard that Og over at Neanderpundit was going to discontinue the series of postal matches, I was really bummed out. After thinking about it a bit, I decided to figure out a way to get them started up again.

Catching AnalogKid from Random Nuclear Strikes in a good mood, (lack of sleep?), I conned him into coordinating the rifle matches, and I'd coordinate the handgun matches.

Ak has done a great job of getting some basic rules and parameters written down, and getting the first e-Postal rifle match task specified. For the details on that, go here, and here.

Being somewhat of an impatient sort (who, me?), I've decided to get the details for the first e-Postal match together a bit ahead of schedule. It was originally scheduled to be announced on July 25th, but I will be out of town that weekend anyway (shooting, of course!) If I'm reading the calendar right, your results will need to be in by Sunday night, August 14th., and will be posted on Monday, the 15th.

The email address for the handgun matches should be emailed to

b l o g (a t) w h i d b e y (d o t ) c o m

NOTE: This post is just an intro to the first handgun e-Postal match, and full rules and details will be posted shortly.

I won't give it away yet, as I haven't finalised all of the details, but I can tell you this much: The first handgun postal match will be a fun target, but it won't be an easy task. It will be relatively short range, and just about ANY handgun will work fine, with any kind of sights, excluding anything with magnification, in other words, no telescopic sights.

Whidbey Island's own Sea Fighter

The Sea Fighter - Originally called the "X" Craft

I've gotta admit that seeing the pictures of the Navy's new Sea Fighter catamaran makes me kinda proud, since it was built right here on Whidbey island in Western Washington state, by Nichol's Brothers boat builders. Around here it's called the "boat yard", or just "Nichol's".

Back when I was in High school (just after Noah docked the ark!), I got to know the "Nichol's Boys" pretty well. Frank, the the head of the clan, brought his wife and kids (eleven brothers and sisters) to Whidbey island in the early sixties, as I remember.

The took over a small, old-time machine shop on the end of Holmes harbor that had been previously run by Red Cameron, (another local character, but that's another post!).

The old metal lathes and other machines were more or less worn out. They were all driven by flat leather belts that came down to the machines from shafts and pulleys hooked to the ceiling. Wooden one by fours hung down from the cone clutches on the overhead shafts so you could start and stop the machines.

Frank managed to keep his family fed by doing repairs to the local farmers and loggers equipment, while a bit at a time, re-building and fixing up the old machinery, maybe a small fishing boat, or modifying one for a fisherman who couldn't afford to get it done anywhere else. Above all, Frank was a master inventor and machinist, and much of what he knew he passed on to his sons.

As years went by, the boat yard became more and more successful, and their reputation grew. More and more employees were hired, and the business continued to grow to where it is today, one of the largest employers in the county.

They started out with practically nothing, and built it, through a lot of hard work, into a family business of which they can justifiably be proud.

E-Postal Rifle Match #1

Re-printed in it's entirety is the announcement regarding the E-postal Rifle Match #1, taken directly from Random Nuclear Strikes:

e-Postal Match Announcement

Hello Ladies and gentlemen.

This week’s match is linked here, but I would ask that you please read this short introduction beforehand. Thank you.

I would like to welcome you to the first of what I hope will be a long running series of internet based firearms competitions. These will be for fun only and should not be taken overly seriously because super-serious people do not have a whole lot of fun.

One item I would like to stress that should always be taken very seriously is firearms safety. ALWAYS treat EVERY firearm as if it were loaded, ALWAYS keep your finger OFF of the trigger until you are ready to shoot and NEVER point a firearm at anything you do not wish to destroy.

Please remember at least those three rules of firearms handling at all times. I will not be responsible for someone hurting themselves or someone else and you can guarantee that these will end if someone screws up and does so.

Now that we have the quasi-legal mumbo-jumbo out of the way, let me explain what I am hoping to accomplish here:

First off, I want to encourage as many folks as possible to get out to the range as often as possible. I consider going to the range to practice my rifle and pistol skills only once a month each (two trips to the range) to be a bare minimum. While I may have done satisfactorily on my last outing, that doesn’t mean that I can do that again in 30 days. I also seem to have an addiction to the smell of burned gunpowder.

Next up, I want to get new people to start shooting. Offering them an opportunity and excuse to start shooting seemed like a good idea to me. I also want to help folks improve their shooting skills as well as improve my own. I will post my own target when I post the task so that, if nothing else, you can try and beat me (which shouldn’t be too difficult).

And lastly, I want as many riflemen and riflewomen as American can hold, which should be equal to its total population between the ages of 12 and 120. Every person a rifleman, as I like to say.

Yes, that means I want children to take part in this. If I have enough minor age participants, I will create a class just for them.

On the subject of classes; as of this time I have no system down to divide up folks who join in the fun. All classifications will be based on participation. If I can get more than five or six people in any one classification, either by age, firearm or whathaveyou, I will split those folks off from the main group and give them their own space as well as grade them with the whole of the participants.

Aside from a certificate of accomplishment, there are no prizes being offered at this time. I have received an offer of a future prize from a fellow gunny blogger (and it is a doozy!), but right now, I want to see how many folks are willing to play along before I start spending my own money on prizes. I’m hoping to get enough people invloved that by the third or fourth go around, I can start offering items to win.

However, I will not stand for ‘prize-queens’ and participation in at least the previous two matches will be mandatory before you can qualify for the prize. My game, my money, my rules.

The same goes for ‘sandbaggers’. I promise you that I will not play any favorites, take any bribes or skew the results in any way shape or form to help any shooter. One of the main tenets of a rifleman is Honor; I will play this straight up and fairly and I ask that everyone else do so as well.

The drills I will be posting will include specific guidelines, plus any variations I can think up that may qualify, as well as a target that you can download and print out at home. All of my targets will be standardized to an 8 ½ x 11 inch piece of paper to make it easier for everyone involved.

After you have completed the task, please e-mail your results to me at AnalogKid (-at-) softgreenglow (-dot-) com. I would prefer you to count up the points and, if possible, send me a picture or a scan of the target in the e-mail. Rifle match tasks will be posted every second Monday of every month. You will have two weeks to go to the range and send me the results. I will examine all of the results and post them on the Monday following the due date.

My partner in this endeavor, Mr. Completely, will be posting tasks for the pistol portion of this e-game on the fourth Monday of every month. He has the same requests and rules as I do. On July the 25th, the due date for your rifle results, he will be posting a pistol task for you to at his website and I encourage you to take part in that portion of the e-Postal Matches.

I thank you for reading this introduction and rules post and I wish you all good luck in the competition and happy shooting.

Posted by AnalogKid at July 11, 2005 12:25 PM

NOTE: I plan to get the handgun e-Postal match #1 target and task posted a couple of days early, like maybe July 22nd., or 23rd., as I'll be in Montana shooting a few pins a a fund raiser for the Montana Shooting Sports Association.